The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-12-17
ORCHID CULTURE.
Eight Thousand Species Known, and
Three Thousand Under Cultivation.
[London Saturday Reyiew.l

LONDON Saturday Reyiew.l
1t is blessed point of orchid culture,
though humorously inconvenient in another
point of view, that there is no end to it. A
man who feels the afflatus is eternally
pushed onward; even those who take it up
as fashion experience something of the
kind. One of the miscellaneous dealers of
Covent Garden, whom we patronized in an
earlier phase of existence, used to send us
his catalogue of roses and lilies and things.
He dropped the practice, and after a time
we asked him why. "Ah," said he, 81 heard
you had gone in for orchids, and then it's all
over with customerp' No doubt, this is
the rule; it must be so. If one does really
Ego i'm no other class of flowers can interest
the mind. Every day new varieties are an
nounced, every week new species. When
Sir Trevor Lawrence addressed the Confer.
ence, little more than three years ago, he
mentioned that 5000 species were known,
and 1000 were under cultivation. If the
figures were true at that time they are vastly
too moderate now. Eight thousand and
three thousand are the proportions accepted
at this date. If grower cares for the
science of his pursuit he will find material for
study, for intellectual delight also, in every
one of these. 1t is not the cultivated varie-
ties which attract him, chosen as they are,
of course, for beauty of flower, but those dull
in tint, or microscopic, which offer such
strange problems, such amazing centrlv-
ances, such startling anomalies, to employ
his mind. But three thousand species worth
a mere gardeners attention give room
enough. assuredly. We never heard an esti-
mate of the number of varieties" attached
to each of these; but since fifty-eight are ac-
credited to Masdevallia Harryana in an Ordi-
nary catalogue of the trade, twenty eight to
Cattleya Mossia, forty to Cattleya Triana,
and so on, they may be reckoned by myriads.
The quantity increases day by day. We
have been told that Mr.. Warner had one hun
bred and forty varieties of Cattleya Mossi9
at the same time, and number even more
astonishing is attributed to Cattleya Triane
Many of these natural "sports," if such they
be. are SO distinct that only skilled botanist
recognizes their identity of species. Among
the innumerable destinations of orchid
growing not least is the delightful probable
ity that any important plant one buys may
turn out to be new and striking variety.
To give an instance-instances are always
desirable, as has been said. Last autumn
we bought six pieces of Oncidium Sarcodes.
The first lowered In spring; but, instead OF
the accepted form, it gave us an exquisite
arrangement" In green and yellow, with
ley. So far as we have learned up to the
present, this is unique. One more has
bloomed, but it offered no peculiarities.
Again, Cegloyne cristata gave us last year
a lip neatly rounded off and finished at the
point where indentatlons on each side APP
proach one another in the usual form. The
reader must have a dull imagination, and
must be strangely ignorant of the value at
taching to eccentric orchids as property, If
he cannot understand our feeling as we
watch that C9ogyne swell day by day, per-
fecting another bloom. If its graceful de
formlty" proves to be congenital. one more
variety is added to the species, and notable.
But all this is still the obvious outside
allurement of the culture; its inward de-
light is far keener and deeper. This is not
the place to expound it, nor would it be adj
visable, when our object is, as always, to
interest every reader and to tempt him
to feel these hidden joys, though he
be unable to pursue them. But-entreating
a moments patience, since the word is terri
ble-we would venture to speak OF hyDrldlza-
ton. There is not really anything to alarm
in this topic, however treated. but our aim
shall be to present 1t in an engaging light.
All botanists from Linn@us unto Darwin ac-
| cepted as a principle that orchids could not
| be "crossed" and loved them accordingly.
youth. The Rev. Mr.. Huntly most distin-
gushed savant, observed to him, II like
these plants, in fact they are the only ones |
grow, with cacti. because those fends, the
hybridiZers cannot touch them" de died In
that happy assurance, we trust; his survlv-
ors declare with grim humor that they have
not forgiven Darwin for dispelling 1t. nor
ever will. But as matter of fact 1t was not
Darwin who played havoc with the theory.
Dean Herbert was first to announce, in 1847,
that he had hybridized orchids; but the man
ner of his communication is so dry we are led
to suspect that the secret was well known.
among his friends at least. To Mr.. John
Harris, surgeon of Exeter, will be granted
for all time the honor of introducing this
practice-or the infamy, as old-fashioned
botanists declare it. He showed Dominy
how to do 1t, and forthwith the business was
launched, the latter gentleman being man
ager to Messrs. Veitch. How many hundred
are now established we have not the least
idea but, whatever the amount, 1t will GER
tainly 60 on increasing by arithmetical pro
erosion. This charming and most prohta-
Bile employment is followed by hundreds OF
skilliul men, but the results at present are
comparatively small. 1t must be so from
the nature of things, for Mr. Veitch has pub
lished table of his experience, which shows
that LHlia and Cattleya demand from ten to
twelve years before they flower; some six
teen years; Lysaste, seven or eight; Zygo-
petalum, five TO nine years according to the
cross; Masdevallias, four to five years; and
SO on. When 1t is recalled that these seed
lings have to be propagated before they
| come before the public, it is astonishing that
| such numbers are already to be bought. Ihls
| is the grand purpose to Which amateurs